Fortitude
by 815
Summary: They appear after night in the summer. And when people part. — Orihime


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach, etc.

**Summary: **They appear after night in the summer. And when people part. ( Orihime )

* * *

" _If I go somewhere where you can't find me... Wait for me. "_

_

* * *

_

"Did I ever tell you?"

Tatsuki looked at her friend, waiting for her response. She shook her head. Orihime smiled at her, and then looked back at the sun. She then said, "My brother… Could catch red dragonflies on his finger." The tomboy looked at her in surprise – surprised that she brought up her brother.

Orihime drew her finger across the sky like she had done so many years ago.

"He'd point up to the sky, and a red dragonfly would fly and land down on it." She smiled sadly, nostalgic flashing in her eyes. "I loved it. It was like magic." Orihime looked to the riverbank. "That's why I always wanted to do that," she said slowly. A pause, and then a deep breath.

"… But I never could…"

* * *

"Come here." A pause and shift in the grass. A tall young man looked back at the roads and the buildings, searching for his sister. "Orihime…?"

There was a rustle in the grass again, and the man smiled.

Orihime stood up, her short hair swishing under her chin. She looked at the sky. The sun was setting, casting an eerie orange glow along the riverbank. It reflected against the calm, rushing water making it intricate, yet simple. "Ne, Kakei," she called out, adjusting her hair in the light wind. "It's getting dark soon…" she whispered - mostly to herself.

She turned to her brother who was far off. "Shouldn't… Shouldn't we be heading back now?"

He had taken her to the riverbank to 'show her something beautiful,' but so far, the only beautiful thing she had seen so far was the sunset. And even that was pretty ordinary. You saw sunsets most of the time. _All_ the time. What was so important?

The girl heard her older brother laugh lightly. "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" She cringed inwardly at the answer and opened her mouth to speak – to protest, but he shook his head. He walked over to the middle of the area. "Come here," he repeated before she could respond.

"I have something to show you."

Orihime sighed, lifting one of her stray bangs off of her face. But she complied, inching her way toward her brother. Another rustle through the grass came together with the calm rushing water making it a calming serenade in the sunset. At last she popped up near her brother.

"Brother… What is it…?" she asked loudly. "I think we should –"

He touched the top of her head and then a "_shhhhhh…_" came. Orihime stood still – noticing that it was a time of silence – and didn't bother to remove her brother's hand even when it began to itch. At last, she asked, "What is it…?" She whispered the question as if they were sharing a secret that no one else should know – even if no one was around at the precise moment.

He removed his hand. "Sit down."

She cocked her head. "Eh?" Kakei smiled at her and sat down himself, patting the lush grass beside him.

"Sit," he said again.

Orihime nodded as she sat alongside her brother. They sat there in silence for a moment. At last she whispered, "What are waiting for?"

He ignored her question. "I came here two days ago," he told her. "I saw something very beautiful and nice. I think you'll like it. I _know_ you'll like it." He rubbed her hair playfully again and she made it neat again. They both say quietly together, listening to the sounds.

The sun went completely down and Orihime found herself scrunching up against her brother – afraid of the dark. At last, Kakei showed a soft smile as he stood up. "This," he said simply. He motioned her to look up at the sky.

The girl followed his finger and looked up at the black sky. It was dotted with shining stars, but that was not ruptured her attention the most.

It was dragonflies.

She gasped at the many dragonflies that dotted the place. It was almost as many as the stars – countless. Their bodies were red – gleaming even if there was no sun to cast a light on them. She watched their figures dance in the dark and admired them from afar. She was also cautious of them, for she didn't know what they were exactly.

The girl got the courage to get closer to the riverbed where most of the dragonflies were. She sat along the rushing river mystified by the different patterns they made as they flew by.

At last she looked at her brother to see what he thought of them and her eyes widened at what was on his finger.

"A dragonfly…!" she whispered excitedly. She crept closer to him, making sure that she didn't make too much noise. When she was near him, she asked, "How did you get one on your finger?"

People have snapshots in their life. Either at their wedding or at a fair. With a friend or with a lover. With family or with yourself. They hold more memories than regular old photos. They hold more stories than books. And they hold more answers than questions. For Orihime, this would be her first snapshot. And she would treasure it for life.

Kakei held his finger down near her and she grinned at the way the dragonfly stretched its wings. When she tried to catch it on her finger, it flew away – to her disappointment.

Her brother – who knew her more than she knew – walked over to the riverside. He took his finger out and another dragonfly landed on it. Orihime was more amazed than jealous and she quickly dashed to her brother's side. Kakei gave her a light smile and he showed her his finger again.

This time she stood still as it moved back and forth along his finger. It twittered its wings slightly before flying off to join the rest of the group. The dragonflies cut lines across the sky. Orihime didn't know what it meant, but it was a wonderful sight.

She moved away from her brother and stood near the water again. She lifted up her hands to see if any would land on them, but there were only a few. A few compared to what Kakei had in his. So she gave up in the end and was content to sit on the ground and look at her brother gather the fireflies in a peaceful crescendo.

Orihime was still young then. And the only word she could think of to describe the sight in front of her was 'magic.' She looked at the sky and at the dragonflies and thought of how pretty it was. It was like an artist drew them for her at this moment and that the whole scenery came out of a painting. One day she would like to draw such a thing.

She lifted a finger and drew random images across the sky – the finger being her chalk and the black being her chalkboard. She stopped only when she felt a hand touch her on her shoulder. The girl whipped around and grinned happily at her brother. Kakei smiled back as he motioned that it was time to go.

Orihime jumped up with vigor and she followed Kakei back to their home.

"Will we come back tomorrow?" she asked him. "Will we see them again?"

He laughed. "We can always come back." He frowned and as an afterthought he quickly added, "But I'm not sure if they'll still be here in the wintertime." But the man merely shrugged at that thought.

Orihime nodded, taking all of it in. "Will we watch it together?" she asked.

There was a flash of happiness in his eyes, but he turned to his sister – another smile on his face. "Even when I'm gone, the dragonflies will still be there. They'll still be _here_." He pointed to her heart. The girl looked down at his finger, and he brought his hand up to flick her on the forehead playfully.

She rubbed her forehead. A trick. "Mmmph…" she muttered. But Kakei just laughed and she did too.

They would return tomorrow and watch them again.

* * *

Orihime stared at the water. "When summer vacation's over... then..." She took a deep breath and turned to look at Tatsuki. She gave her a bright smile. "Let's come here and watch red dragonflies again!" Tatsuki looked at her with surprise mingled with nostalgic.

Her friend had changed so much. Even her new hair-do was a sign of a matureness that she had never experienced with her before. Orihime seemed depressed in these few moments. And Tatsuki had a feeling that she might never see the energetic girl again. But she pushed those thoughts away. And answered:

"O-Okay..."

Overhead, fireworks exploded in the sky. She glanced up in astonishment. "Hey!" she cried. "Already?! But it's not even dark yet!" She gave Orihime a quick look before she ran toward the festival. "C'mon, Orihime!" she called back.

The orange-haired girl's eyes were wide, but then they returned to their normal almond shapes and glittered with excitement and joy. "Okay!" she replied happily. She got up and ran to quickly catch up with her friend.

As she ran she took one last look at the riverbank. And smiled.

She knows she saw a flicker of red in the sky against the stars.

* * *

_" I promise to come back here... to be with you. "_

_

* * *

_

**A/N. **Hum. This just came to me while it was raining really hard. Orihime's an admirable character. And… Well, this idea came. Ah well. This seems pretty nostalgic.

The quote above and below were both thought by Orihime in the 8th volume.


End file.
